The feeding of power and communication cables across floors has long presented a problem in high-traffic environments such as production areas, warehouses, retail spaces and office complexes. Commercially available floor raceways are unable to accommodate the number and or bundled diameters of the cables that need to be run along a particular path. Moreover electrical codes forbid cramming when cables are routed through a tightly confined space such as a raceway. Also, in many cases the raceway designs are too boxy or protruberant and in most case they are insufficiently rugged to withstand the weight of heavy traffic over a sustained period of time. This is especially a problem in aisles, at the threshold of doorways, and in large open areas where the cables cross a substantial distance from a wall or floor power supply to power receptacles and or communication jacks at remote positions.
Apart from locations that are coextensive with a wall, positioning a power cable along a floor is further unacceptable due to tripping hazards for foot traffic. Also, power cables are often encased in flexible metal conduit, which is unsightly and impedes movement of equipment across the floor. Communication cables are more delicate than power cords, thus they present additional concerns, such as ready damage if stepped on, run over, slid over or tripped over. Thus communication cables are often encased in a protective conduit, and that results in the same problems as for power cords.
The usual way to overcome these difficulties is to feed the cables overhead, such as in the proximity of rafters or above drop ceilings, and then to feed such cables downward at many locations in association with power poles. Such feeding increases the complexity and often requires many power poles, which may be unsightly and in any case are undesirable obstacles on the working floor area. Alternatively, cables are fed under a raised floor, which is itself a tedious task. The need to use upward or downward detours of cables to circumvent traffic on working floors not only adds to the time, cost and tedium of electrical installations, but also hinders reconfiguring the cable network when distribution needs for power and data change over time at that site.
Thus there is an ongoing need for improved design of cable protectors that can accommodate high traffic while still enabling cable distribution across a floor. It is an object of this invention to provide such protectors for the feeding of power and communication cables.